Excercise without SHOES???? Really???

pdiddy02

Wow! Thanks for letting me know - I feel I shoud try it too!

I have a really weird thought today ...

Can you workout without shoes ie, just bare naked feet???

I know a lot of people say its not good for your knees. What about Insanity? Can do even attempt to do Insanity with naked feet?

I feel funny when I think of exercising without shoes really!! And I forgot to bring my sport shoes on my holiday - so please suggest what exercises I can do now??

P.S - I love SHAUN T and CHALENE!

I strictly work out WITHOUT shoes. I even do Insanity, which I have just started (finished my first week!) and run in the elliptical without shoes. When I wear shoes, my feet start to cramp within a minute or two and it actually becomes more painful to workout so I just don't wear shoes.

pdiddy02

I have a really weird thought today ...

Can you workout without shoes ie, just bare naked feet???

I know a lot of people say its not good for your knees. What about Insanity? Can do even attempt to do Insanity with naked feet?

I feel funny when I think of exercising without shoes really!! And I forgot to bring my sport shoes on my holiday - so please suggest what exercises I can do now??

P.S - I love SHAUN T and CHALENE!

Go read the book "Born to Run" and then come back. Human feet are extremely complex machines. They evolved to allow us to jump and run miles without shoes. Even the advent of shoes "with support" is extremely recent compared to all of human history.

Short answer: YES, you can exercise without shoes. Ultimately, it may actually be more beneficial for your body and feet to go without shoes entirely. (that doesn't mean you're doing anything WRONG by working out in shoes.)

That's new to me. I didn't know that! I will surely read the book - thanks for the recommendation :happy:

kelly101386

I use shows for planks and push ups and stuff because they give me traction, everything else I go shoeless for x

Maidofmer

I work out at home in bare feet. doesn't matter if I wear shoes, the carpet slides no matter what.

Keenasgettingfitnhealthy

I rarely wear shoes at home. So I've done zumba and 30DS without shoes. Also I've got a set of dumbells and a home gym machine which I also don't use shoes with. Only time I wear shoes exercising is outside haha

PrimalGirl

I wear 'barefoot' shoes in the gym, because you have to wear something, and to run, and the rest of the time, working out in the house or the garden, i'm totally barefoot.

My feet, ankles and calves are much, MUCH stronger because of it. I have lots of flexibility in my toes, soles of my feet and ankles now which I never used to have. I also rarely twist my ankle these days when moving over uneven surfaces because my feet are more used to adjusting.

I also have better posture and better balance.

Go naked!!

PrimalGirl

AnguishLanguish

I have started doing my insanity workouts without shoes because I feel I have better control over my landing, feet and ankles this way. If after a week or so I notice any issues I will try again with shoes to see how I feel.

pdiddy02

I work out without shoes on all the time. I do Turbofire, P90X, Firm workouts and Walk Away the Pounds all in bare feet. I used to do Taekwondo at a studio and we were required to workout barefoot. Since I love being barefoot it was only natural that I ended up without shoes at home too. I should mention that I have foam tiles on the floor where I workout so it's not like I'm directly on a hard floor but it's not super cushy or springy either.

I totally hear ya! Its a new thing I learned today - to workout barefoot, and so happy today!

SleeplessinBerlin

I do Insanity without shoes. I also did all my other workouts at home (30 day shred, Ripped in 30) without them.I do however get shin splints easily if I work out on the floor (or thin carpet). For that reason I use a workout mat.

maisid

I have a love / hate relationship with shoes!! The shoes I walk in around and use for a daily usage have to be at least a size larger than what I would normally wear, I need to be able to move my toes at any time.

When it comes to exercising I tend to start out with shoes, especially in Zumba class, but after 5 minutes my feet hurt so much I take them off.
Insanity I tried for 3 days with shoes and it was terrible, I haven't done Insanity with shoes ever since.
Kickboxing without shoes as well.
The only workout I do with shoes is actually boxing, but probably because I do not move that much while boxing , so my feet do not hurt.

Because of my weird shoe-feet relationship, I have been looking at shoes that give a somewhat barefoot feeling as the Nike free tr fit 3 does. So I will probably end up buying those shoes to get the barefoot feeling my feet are craving.

pdiddy02

I work out at home with no shoes. Cardio, weights, yoga, whatever. If my ankle is bothering me, I might wear my ankle brace. But still, probably not shoes, lol. I have a weird mental thing against wearing shoes at home. But I wouldn't get on a machine without shoes, you might pinch your toes and get hurt! And definitely, I'd wear shoes in a gym!

You and me are soul mates lol! The shoes are the first thing that come off when I get home. That being said, I never work out with shoes on. I do my dancing without them and if I decide to workout on the beach, I take my shoes off as soon as I get to the sand. It works for me and keeps me from hurting from my hips to my toes.

That's nice to know that a lot of people workout without shoes and barefoot... I will def try and see how it works for me!

kendrafallon

I've done Tae Kwon Do for several years and we're required to workout barefoot, as result, on the rare occasions I do workout at home, I'm usually barefoot.

I wouldn't run barefoot or wearing barefoot style trainers, I much prefer my running shoes. At the end of the day, it comes down to personal preference.

kennie2

not in my gym you can't!!
i got told off once cos i took my shoes off
my feet were really hurting!

jamielynas

i wear 5 finger shoes, I couldn't squat or deadlift in anything else

darrensurrey

Exercise without shoes? Are you crazy?

Nicoleace22

So happy to know I'm not the only one. My whole house treats me as if Im an anomaly! LOL!

Shows them,

But really I don't like shoes at all. They make my feet hurt. I never have on shoes once I'm home. When I go out they are necessary but still EVIL!:grumble:

kendrafallon

Exercise without shoes? Are you crazy?

Love it!!

pdiddy02

Exercise without shoes? Are you crazy?

Awesome! I wonder which world I was living in :laugh: :glasses:

HotMummyMission

Id be shoeless for the rest of my life f i could ()

Twisted_sista

I used the treadmill once with bare feet and I will never ever ever do it again. My feet were so sore for like a week after.

Hexahedra

I believe in technology, and I simply can't believe that shoes are fundamentally bad for you. Sure we evolved without shoes, but back then our life expectancy was low too, so primitive humans were more likely to die before they wear out their knees. Now that we live longer and longer, reducing the impact of running through cushioning becomes important.

vtmoon

Exercising without shoes is actually good for you. When you land awkwardly from jumping, your body will let you know that what you just did doesn't feel right and that is why you felt pain, so you learn to adjust. Now if you were wearing shoes that were able to absorb that slight pain because they have extra cushion, then one might argue that the shoes will cause you injury in the long run because they masked the pain and potential injury signs.

totem12

Shoes make me slip on my floor when I'm jumping around! Bare feet much more steady. I just make sure to be careful with form on the ankles more than anything.

BigFishRS

Personally I love to have no shoes on. I do however typically workout in shared areas with shoes but that's more for safety and sanitary reasons. My trainer wouldn't let me keep my shoes on if I wanted to while I was doing Kettle Bells. It throws off your balance too much especially when getting low to the ground and swinging upwards of a 40 lb weight while trying to keep your balance.

danika2point0

I actually can't do Insanity with my shoes on...If I try and start off with sneakers, I have to take them off because my feet cramp and burn. It's horrible. Barefoot all the way for me baby! x

darrensurrey

Awesome! I wonder which world I was living in :laugh: :glasses:

TBH I will look at the situation in hand.
-If I'm at home then I train in socks. I've never dropped a heavy weight on my foot.
-If I'm at a gym, then I'd rather wear shoes because others have worn outside shoes on the floor or have gone bare footed and may have dodgy feet.
-If the floor's rough and I intend to do lots of rapid changes of direction, I'll also wear appropriate shoes.
-For my classes, if students want to take their shoes off, then I warn them of the possibility of splinters for classes in a church hall.

Capt_Apollo

the worst thing to happen to feet is the invention of the athletic sneaker.

when you run, your foot strikes the ground with the force of up to 12 times your body weight. do you think a half inch piece of rubber is going to protect your feet?? feet are meant to naturally pronate and adjust to the ground underneath it.

a study of gymnasts show that when they land on a soft rubber surface after their routine, they tend to hit the mat harder to stick their landing. why? because they subconsciously know that they are landing on an uneven surface, and are looking for balance. but on a harder surface, they land much lighter. same with runners. many of the best track coaches out there have their runners do at least part of their work out on grass to promote foot strength.

injuries among athletes and runners have gone up since the invention of the athletic sneaker. the best kind are the new minimus style shoes that allow your foot to naturally adjust to the ground. however, these shoes aren't "new." athletic sneakers were developed in the 70's, and the founder of nike convinced the running world that longer heel striking strides were better for longer distances, and with his newly developed cushioned heel shoe, you could do such a thing. before that, people ran in thin soled shoes, resembling slippers.

meredithkrueger

I went through a period of wearing no shoes during workouts at home but ended up with plantar fascitis. My arches had problems from all the pounding. With PF, in order to heal, you have to wear shoes from the time you get out of bed until the time you get in bed. It was VERY painful! Needless to say, I have healed but I will no longer exercise without shoes...

PetulantOne

I lift barefoot (at home).

RunnerElizabeth

I haven't gotten into the barefoot running thing, too afraid I'll cut my foot open on a piece of glass on the city streets and end up with tetanus.

However I do workout barefoot at home. I do yoga, dance, pilates, my You Are Your Own Gym strength body weight strength workouts and kettlebells.

Shoes are for outside.